Olympics: South Korea’s Park reinstated for final after disqualified (Lead)

London, July 28 (IANS) South Korean swimming sensation Park Tae Hwan won an appeal against disqualification in the men’s 400m freestyle heats and was reinstated for Saturday evening’s final of the London Olympic Games.

The decision was made after a meet of FINA Jury of Appeal at the London Aquatics Centre, reported Xinhua.

The FINA Jury of Appeal examined the protest lodged by the Korean Swimming Federation regarding Park’s disqualification, and decided to reinstate his berth in the 400m freestyle final based on the recommendation of the FINA Technical Swimming Commission.

Earlier in the day, Park, gold winner of the event at Beijing Olympics and the 2011 Shanghai World Championships, was disqualified by a judge on the pool deck for a false start. He told reporters he didn’t know why he was disqualified and would discuss with his coach for further reaction.

Park’s strongest rival Chinese Sun Yang, who smashed Grant Hackett’s decade-old 1,500m freestyle world mark at the Shanghai Worlds, posted the fastest qualifying time at 3:45.07 to book a last-eight berth.